{"id":38374,"date":"2026-08-11T10:15:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38374"},"modified":"2026-08-11T10:15:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:15:48","slug":"laufey-reveals-the-one-thing-shes-still-terrified-of-doing-onstage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38374","title":{"rendered":"Laufey Reveals the One Thing She&#8217;s Still Terrified of Doing Onstage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/laufey\/\">Laufey<\/a> has revealed that after years of performing to arenas around the world, one part of the job still unnerves her: looking an audience member directly in the eye.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-related-artists \/\/ lrv-u-margin-tb-1 lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-align-items-center lrv-u-margin-l-00@desktop-xl a-glue@desktop-xl lrv-a-glue--t-0 lrv-a-glue--l-0 u-margin-t-29px@desktop u-margin-t-250@mobile-max u-margin-lr-auto@desktop-xl-max u-max-width-400@desktop-xl-max u-width-100p@mobile-max u-max-width-80@desktop-xl\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-color-white a-font-primary-fancy-m lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-text-align-center a-article-related-module-title lrv-u-padding-tb-050\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<div class=\"a-article-related-module-wrap lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl lrv-u-flex-grow-1 u-width-100p\">\n<div class=\"o-card lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl u-flex-direction-column@desktop-xl-max u-align-items-center lrv-u-position-relative u-flex-basis-100p lrv-u-padding-b-075\">\n<div class=\"o-card__image-wrap lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-80 u-width-160@mobile-max lrv-a-glue-parent lrv-u-flex-shrink-0\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-height-100p\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/laufey\/\" class=\"c-lazy-image__link lrv-a-unstyle-link\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"a-crop-1x1 lrv-u-height-100p\" style=\"\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-billboard-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"\" width=\"\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"o-indicator lrv-a-glue a-glue--b-n050 lrv-a-glue--r-0 a-glue--t-auto a-glue--l-0 lrv-u-margin-lr-auto u-pointer-events-none lrv-u-background-color-brand-primary lrv-u-border-radius-50p u-width-20 u-height-20 a-icon-related-artist lrv-a-icon-after\"><\/p>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p class=\"c-tagline  a-font-secondary-fancy-xxxs@desktop-xl a-font-secondary-fancy-s@desktop-xl-max lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-color-black u-padding-t-13 lrv-u-padding-b-2 lrv-u-margin-tb-00 lrv-u-text-align-center lrv-u-border-t-1 lrv-u-border-color-black lrv-u-width-100p\">See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tSpeaking to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WCEGZ7fQEaM\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WCEGZ7fQEaM\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">The Hit Network\u2019s Hot Hits with Nic &amp; Loren<\/a><\/em>, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter traced the anxiety back to her classical training. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cI grew up playing cello and I used to pick a person in the audience and accidentally stare into their eyes,\u201d she said, recalling that a teacher once told her after a recital, \u201cYou can\u2019t look at people directly when you\u2019re playing, it\u2019s creepy.\u201d The note stuck. \u201cSo now I\u2019m so scared of freaking people out! I\u2019m always thinking about it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThere is one exception. Laufey said she deliberately searches the crowd for young fans during \u201cLetter to My 13 Year Old Self,\u201d her set closer. \u201cIt\u2019s a letter to my younger self so I like finding the young girls in the audience and catching their eye,\u201d she said. \u201cBut sometimes they\u2019re crying and that makes me cry. So that\u2019s another reason that I can\u2019t look too closely.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Laufey on Arena Tour Shock, Staring at Fans, and Her Fortnite Skin\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WCEGZ7fQEaM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLaufey said arena shows, counterintuitively, feel more intimate to her than smaller theaters. \u201cIn an arena, I\u2019m surrounded and feel closer to the fans. I get to do a barricade walk and feel up-close,\u201d she said, describing the contrast between the scale of the room and the quietness of her songs as heightening the intimacy. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tShe also spoke about an unexpected marker of her crossover fame \u2014 being recognized for her <em>Fortnite<\/em> character. \u201cI was at a restaurant yesterday and the waitress was like, \u2018Are you the one on Fortnite?&#8217;\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll come across another me and we\u2019re just shooting at each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe comments follow a landmark year for the Icelandic-Chinese artist. Her third studio album, <em>A Matter of Time<\/em>, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in September 2025 \u2014 her first top 10 entry on the chart and the highest-charting jazz album since 2018 \u2014 while simultaneously topping Billboard\u2019s Jazz Albums, Traditional Jazz Albums, Independent Albums and Vinyl Albums charts. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThe album went on to win Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2026 Grammy Awards, her second consecutive win in the category after 2023\u2019s <em>Bewitched<\/em>, which peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200. Laufey, who has two top 10 albums in Australia, recently wrapped an eight-show Australian tour behind the record.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laufey has revealed that after years of performing to arenas around the world, one part of the job still unnerves her: looking an audience member directly in the eye. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Speaking to The Hit Network\u2019s Hot Hits with Nic &amp; Loren, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter traced the anxiety back to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image004-e1786420573847.png?w=824","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}